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The name "Somerset" comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase Sumorsaete. This means "the land of the summer people", because in the past people could only live on the land in the summer. In the winter, the land was flooded.

There is not much large industry in Somerset, but Bridgwater is a port, and Yeovil is important in building helicopters.

Tourism is an important industry in the county; in 2001 about 23,000 people worked in tourism. Tourists like Somerset because it is very beautiful, with much countryside and few big towns. Somerset has many places to visit: